Akron Urban League MCCAP Program a Gift to Minority Contractors

AKRON (Dec. 5, 2022) – For many business owners, starting your own business is a frightening endeavor. Constant rejections due to lack of experience or denial of financial capital makes getting a business off the ground incredibly difficult.

This is especially true for minority contractors – and the Akron Urban League (Akron, OH) wants to help with that.

The Urban League has built the Minority Contractor Capital Access Program (MCCAP), a program that gives small, minority contractors the tools to truly grow and develop their business.

Gail Wilson, MCCAP’s director for the Urban League, said, “Our goal is for them to be successful and grow their business – we provide them with the tools to do that.”

This includes assistance with marketing, technical assistance, accounting and legal services from local professionals. The program also gives a new cell phone and laptop with QuickBooks for program participants to be in contact with employees and clients.

Mentoring and coaching is also something that the program provides. Some of these mentors and coaches are industry professionals who themselves are looking for subcontractors or have already retired.

According to Wilson, this program is already a success. She announced in March that participants in the program have captured over $2 million in revenue in new contracts over the first two years. As of Dec. 1st, that figure has grown to $4.1 million.

Rodney Griggs, a participant in the program, has said that his construction company, in business for almost 20 years, has been revived.

“I went from doing a couple hundred thousand a year to more than $600,000 a year, and I’d say that’s all because of MCCAP,” he said. “MCCAP helped me with bonding. The program has done some wonderful things for us as contractors, starting out with just giving us tools to work with.”

With such success stories, the Urban League is now preparing to expand the program.

Larry Chadwick, vice president of programs and operations for the Urban League, said, “What we’re doing now is the new year is, instead of bringing people in twice a year, we’re going to bring in people quarterly. So, it will be four to six people per quarter.”

“The opportunities out there and the participants we’re reaching, it’s been great. And now they (participants) are telling their peers about the program.”

To get more information, please read the original article here.